Instant takeaways from BU men's basketball's 86-78 PL quarterfinal loss to Navy
BU's season ended in the Patriot League quarterfinals at Case Gym, where the Terriers hadn't lost in over three months.
BOSTON — Boston University men’s basketball’s leading scorer, sophomore guard Kyrone Alexander, said he felt “invincible at home,” following the Terriers’ 68-66 win over Loyola Maryland two weeks ago.
He had just nailed his second-consecutive game-winner at Case Gym, stretching BU’s home winning streak to 10 games.
On Saturday, he buried his third-consecutive game-winner to give BU its 11th straight home win, its longest home winning streak since 1996-97.
“Nobody wants to see the Terriers at home,” said Alexander on Saturday.
So when all the other Patriot League results fell the Terriers’ way, granting them a home quarterfinal matchup, BU almost felt destined for a 12th straight home win and a second-consecutive trip to the Patriot League semifinals.
BU, however, dug itself into its largest home halftime deficit of the season and trailed for the final 34:48 of the contest on Thursday night.
The No. 4 Terriers fell to No. 5 Navy, 86-78, in the Patriot League quarterfinals, ending its season at Case Gym where losses felt almost inconceivable.
Here are three takeaways from BU’s season-ending loss and its first defeat at home since Dec. 1…
BU struggled in the first half.
BU (16-16, 10-8) could not produce any offense from its set actions. The Terriers constantly saw the shot clock wane to within five seconds and were forced to attempt numerous low-percentage looks. Playing at a slow pace is nothing new for BU, which ranks 353rd out of 364 teams in adjusted tempo, but the Terriers simply did not generate good looks. Head coach Joe Jones called a timeout just under eight minutes into the contest with his team trailing 15-4 and the victim of a 13-0 Navy run.
The Terriers also struggled with ball security, turning the ball over 11 times in the opening half. Navy’s defense was extremely physical and handsy all half. It forced seven steals by jumping passing lanes and swiping down on the ball for strips.
BU whittled the deficit down to two with 6:24 remaining in the half when Alexander knifed his way into the lane for a contested turnaround jumper. That, however, was the last field goal BU would score until graduate guard Miles Brewster drained a deep buzzer-beating step back 3 to end the half trailing 32-26.
That six-point margin was BU’s largest home halftime deficit of the season.
BU’s defense faltered in the second half.
BU entered the second half trailing by six, its largest home halftime deficit of the season. That deficit grew to 11 within four minutes as Navy (14-18, 10-8) scored on its first five possessions of the second half.
All-Patriot League first team guard Austin Benigni knifed his way to the rim for multiple acrobatic layups. Guards Jordan Pennick and Jinwoo Kim also added an interior finish to grow Navy’s lead.
The Terriers could not stop fouling in the second half. The Midshipmen attempted 26 second-half free throws and entered the double bonus with 5:54 remaining.
BU shot well in the second half — 19 for 35 — but Navy shot 15 for 25 and 22 for 28 from the line as BU failed to complete a comeback.
BU lost the interior and turnover battle.
BU prides itself on rebounding. Rightfully so. It is a top-five team in the nation in defensive rebounding rate. The Midshipmen attacked the glass relentlessly, however, and corralled 12 crucial offensive rebounds.
Navy also outscored BU 38-28 in the paint. 6-foot-10 junior forward Aidan Kehoe scored 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting as Navy’s primary interior presence. Benigni, a 5-foot-10 guard, added on doing the majority of his damage at or near the rim. He finished with a game-high 30 points on 8-of-14 shooting and 14 of 16 from the free-throw line. BU had no answers as he continued to drive inside and draw contact.
The Terriers committed 17 turnovers, 11 of which came from Navy steals. The Midshipmen scored 27 points off those giveaways — compared to BU’s eight.
Navy junior forward Donovan Draper earned a key pick-pocket on Brewster with just over two minutes to play, leading to a Kim transition layup. It gave the Midshipmen a 77-66 lead.
Disappointing end to another underwhelming season. I understand the difficulty of mid-majors in the NLI/transfer era, but it's sad to see where the program is now, from when I was there in the mid 2000s. Watching a lot of the home games on ESPN+ the last few years, it's crazy how small the crowds are and no buzz, and they don't even consider playing any games at Agganis. I wonder if there will be any push to move on from Joe Jones, who seems like a nice guy, but hasn't shown many signs of elevating the program after the 2020 conference championship win.